


On Top of the World

by notsogreatwithnames



Category: Slither (2006)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, pure and utter fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 10:57:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17980028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notsogreatwithnames/pseuds/notsogreatwithnames
Summary: In a perfect world where Grant Grant never went to the woods, and is instead, a nervous divorcee asking reader out on a date.





	On Top of the World

Grading third grade spelling tests had become your Sunday ritual at the Backyard Diner. Finding it hard to concentrate at home or at the library, the diner had just enough background noise to keep you focused. Taking a sip of coffee from the powder blue mug, your red pen marked through question three of one of your student’s test, where they decided to provide a pretty decent drawing of Frankenstein’s monster, rather than writing out the word ‘knock.’ Writing their grade at the top of the paper, you drew a small, red smiley face next to the picture, but noted they still needed to try and spell the word, rather than just giving up.

Preoccupied with your task, you failed to notice the presence near the table. The sound of someone clearing their throat brought you out of your grading haze. Looking up, a man in a green, plaid shirt tucked into a pair of khaki pants and loafers smiled down at you.

“Excuse me miss,” his voice soft and soothing. “I was wondering if I could use some of your creamer?” he asked, pointing to the tin pitcher on your table and shaking his other hand holding the same blue mug as you.

“Oh, uh sure.” you smiled.

“Thank you very much!” he replied, his index finger pushing his oversized, aviator glasses back on his face before grabbing the tin. It took you a moment to recognize the man, but those glasses and bald head were hard to mistake. You had always seen Grant Grant out and about in Wheelsy, it was a relatively small town after all, but you two never crossed paths until now. He reached down to pick up the tin pitcher, which looked diminutive in his large hands, and put a couple splashes in his cup.

“Thanks so much. Been trying to drink it black for a change, but I can’t stand it. Got too much of a sweet tooth.” He grinned. You smiled back at him, finding his toothy smile infectious.

“Yeah, me too,” you said, pointing to the half eaten cinnamon roll on the table. Grant chuckled at your statement.

“So, uh you’re new to Wheelsy aren’t ya?” he asked, stirring his coffee.

“Mmhm. I’m (y/n).” Grant stuck out his hand to shake yours and you noticed how warm and surprisingly smooth his were.

“How ya liking it?”

“It’s pretty good,” you admitted. “Definitely a change from the city.” You had only been in Wheelsy for about half a year, taking a position at the elementary school to be closer to your family in the next town over. Grant nodded his head, shuffling on his feet in the silence.

“Well, uh maybe I’ll see ya around again? Don’t want to keep you from your work” he said, waving to you as he made his way back to his booth on the other side of the diner.

“Yeah! Ok!” you said waving back. You watched him scoot back into his booth, take a sip of his sweetened coffee and smile. The man had a kind demeanor about him, and you couldn’t help but look up from your stack of tests from time to time just to get a glimpse. The deep, blue eyes behind those glasses had caught you off guard.

You heard about what happened to Grant Grant before you arrived. His ex-wife, Starla, had apparently run off with the Sheriff, leaving the older man alone with the rumors of the small town. You had seen pictures of Starla from old school yearbooks in the town library, and she was beautiful. No wonder he had fallen in love with her. You wondered if maybe Starla had only married him for his money when you found out Grant Grant owned the car dealership, but all the teachers you had come to befriend stated otherwise. They had a real, honest relationship for many years before Starla decided she didn’t want that life anymore. Watching Grant from his booth, your heart felt for him sitting alone. He had finished his breakfast and went up to the counter to pay, holding a conversation with the waitress for a few minutes before leaving. On his way out, he turned to wave at you and you smiled and waved back as he walked out of the door.

As the weeks went by, your and Grant’s Sunday ‘run ins’ became more frequent, and soon the run-ins turned into actual planned meetings. It was nice to get to know another resident outside the schooling system, and you discovered Grant Grant had lived a fascinating life before settling in Wheelsy, having been a Marine. His separation from Starla was amicable enough you found out, and he had taken some time for himself, not ready to enter the dating pool again. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have a lot of suitors though. Out in the town, you became aware of just how many of Wheelsy’s female population would come up to Grant to make small talk, and you’d find yourself a little jealous, though you and Grant weren’t anything more than friends as far as you knew. You weren’t the Starla type, dressed in tea length dresses with perfectly primed hair, preferring the jeans and T-shirt look outside of work, but the more you got to know Grant, the more you found yourself attracted to him. Behind his elderly father style, he was quite a handsome man for his age. His steel blue eyes sparkled like the ocean when the sun hit them, and well built muscles peaked through whenever he rolled up his sleeves.

On the eighth Sunday, you and Grant were at the Backyard Diner, enjoying your coffee and splitting one of the diner’s famously gigantic cinnamon rolls for a late breakfast. One of the single moms came up to your booth and proceeded to chat with Grant about her brake pump, while not so subtly bending over the table to show off her cleavage so she could ‘hear him better,’ completely ignoring your existence. Growing annoyed, you cleared your throat to excuse yourself and walked to the restroom. When you returned the woman was gone and Grant sat waiting for you to return. Crumbling a napkin in his hand, his demeanor seemed to change in the few minutes you were gone. A sinking feeling came over you, figuring it had something to do with the woman who stopped by earlier.

“Hey,” his voice croaked. Grant cleared his throat and swallowed hard before beginning again. “Hey, (y/n), uh listen, I’ve been thinking about something recently.” Oh god, you thought, he was going to tell you he was seeing someone or that he didn’t want to continue your get togethers. A fast paced humming started in your chest, surprising you.

“I…I was wondering,” he adjusted his glasses on his face. A nervous tick you had picked up on from getting to know him. “The, uh, Wheelsy Fall Festival is coming up next weekend. Um, I was wondering if you’d like to go with me?” The humming in your chest exploded, his question catching you off guard.

“Oh, uh” was all you could sputter out.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” he started.

“No! I’d… I’d love to!” you cut Grant off, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.

“Oh, good!” he beamed. His smile running up to his eyes and his hand dropping his grip on the napkin. “I’ll pick ya up around 5?” You nodded your head in approval.

“Ok then, it’s a date!” Grant replied, taking a sip of his coffee and forking a piece of the cinnamon roll.

A date, you kept thinking the whole week, Grant Grant asked you out on an actual date. You couldn’t help but smile whenever the thought entered your mind. He stopped by the school, during the middle of the week at lunch one day, saying he just wanted to make sure you still wanted to go. You told him yes, and asked why he didn’t just call you because the school wasn’t on his way back to work.

“I also kinda wanted to see you again before then,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. His cheeks flushed underneath his glasses when you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

 

The doorbell to your apartment rang at five sharp the following Sunday, and you opened the door to greet Grant. Wearing his usual checkered shirt, khakis, and a tan zip up jacket, he looked nice as always. He adjusted his glasses as his eyes trailed you up and down.

“Wow! You look great!”

You brushed him off as you didn’t stray too far from your normal wear, opting for some tight black jeans, and a silky, long sleeved maroon shirt with a deep neckline. Locking up, Grant walked you to his truck, opening the passenger door for you and making sure you were all in before closing it. The coolness of the leather seats made its way to your back through the thin fabric of your shirt.

“Kinda missed breakfast this morning,” you joked on the ride. You both had to finish up some things that morning in order to enjoy your evening.

“Yeah,” he agreed, nodding his head. “Been feeling off the whole day, like I’m forgetting something.” He laughed at his words and peeked over at you. It was only a few minutes later till you reached the festival, having to park in the gravel lot. Grant bought you a beer and you two walked together, mingling with each other’s friends and watching the pumpkin carving contest. Getting hungry, you made your way to the food station to grab a funnel cake and some hot cider.

“I’m uh, really happy you joined me tonight,” Grant said, taking a sip from his floral paper cup. “I wasn’t sure if you would.” he admitted.

“What?! Why?”

“Didn’t know if a pretty, young woman like yourself would be interested in an old man like me,” he shrugged.

“Grant,” you sighed. “You’re not old. And if we’re being honest, I didn’t think you had any interest in me,” you covered your blush by taking a drink of your cider. His wide eyes stared at you as he smiled.

“Oh that’s hogwash, (y/n)! Why would you think that?!” he reached for your hand across the wooden picnic table you were sitting at. You shrugged your shoulders, now suddenly embarrassed at all the thoughts that had been running through your head the past couple of weeks.

“I don’t know. I guess because I’ve seen pictures of your ex,” you looked down, avoiding his eye contact. “She’s beautiful, and all these women who come up to you when we’ve been out together.” You let go of his hand and covered your face as your embarrassment grew.

“Oh god! I sound like one of those crazy people don’t I?” you laughed. Grant leaned forward, forcing you to drop your arms, so he could see your face. His raspy voice called out for you and you finally let him move your hands away.

“You’re not crazy. I guess I shoulda ask ya out sooner, saved us both from some silly jealousy. But I haven’t been out with anyone since the divorce. I guess I was little nervous.” His blue eyes pleaded with yours, hoping you knew how terribly sorry he was that he caused you those feelings, even though he had no idea till now.

“Oh Grant, it’s fine. It’s no one’s fault. We’re here together now, right? That’s all the matters.” you smiled at him. His smiled reached his eyes again, letting you know everything was okay, and he told you to have the last piece of funnel cake. When you got up to leave, a chill ran through your body. The sun having gone down, the temperature had dropped some degrees and your blouse didn’t seem to be helping anymore.

“You cold?” Grant asked after returning from throwing the trash away.

“Just a little,” you said, wrapping your arms over your body.

“Here.” Grant proceeded to unzip his jacket and place it over your shoulders. You tried to protest, but he would have none of it, telling you he was just fine without it. You stuck your arms through the oversized sleeves and thanked him. You two started walking again, and Grant’s hand brushed against yours, your fingers intertwining when they connected.

“Geeze! You really are freezing!” he stated, while placing his other hand on top of yours and rubbing your cold skin warm.

Walking down the aisle filled with classic carnival games, you pointed out a giant panda bear hanging from one of the booths, telling Grant it reminded you of one you had when you were a kid. He let go of your hand and walked up to the ring toss booth it was located in. You cheered him on as he threw ring after ring, trying to hit the glass bottles. Fifteen minutes and forty dollars later, he had finally landed on the one needed to win the large prizes and handed you the black and white stuffed animal with a smile on his face.

“My hero!” you cooed and hugged him. His long, muscular arms wrapped around your body and you inhaled his minty scent before he let go out you, telling you there was one more thing he wanted to do before the festival ended. You walked to the back of the fairgrounds, towards the rides, and got in line for the ferris wheel. Having already bought a ticket, Grant told you to stay put for a moment while he went up to the carny operating the ferris wheel. You notice Grant slip something into the man’s hand and clap his overall-covered back, before turning around to head towards you.

“What was that?” you lifted an eyebrow. Grant shook his head, his mouth forming in odd shapes as he kept utterring that it was nothing. After a few minutes, it was finally your turn to board the cart. You and Grant took your seats on the worn out, dark red cushion bottom, while the carny lowered the restraining bar in front of you. Sliding backwards, three more carts were loaded before the ride truly started. After your first go around, Grant started to swing the cart back and forth, causing creaks in the old joints of the machine. You grabbed hold of his arm and begged him to stop teasing you.

“What? You’re scared of heights?” he laughed.

“No,” you answered fighting a laugh as well. “I’m just afraid of fifty year old carnival rides failing.” Grant abided by your wishes and stopped rocking the cart, letting you both enjoy the ride and the views you could see as you reached the top. After your third go around, the ferris wheel started to slow down, getting ready to let people off. As you passed by the carny again, the speed significantly dropped and you wound up stopping at the very top of the ferris wheel. Grant placed an arm around your shoulders as you looked out at the beautiful view of Wheelsy, all lit up in the night sky. You finally turned to look at him, your lips curled in a smile.

“So, is this why you slipped that guy some money?” you asked.

“Maybe,” he smiled back at you. He stared into your eyes, causing your heart to flutter. You had never seen anyone with the same shade of blue Grant’s eyes held. They were hypnotic, and you weren’t aware of him leaning towards you until you felt his lips on yours. Grant initiated the kiss, but let you continue it. Your eyes closing, you placed a hand on his cheek and turned your body to a more comfortable position. His slightly chapped lips grazed across yours and you felt a heat rush through your body in the chilly night air. Needing to catch your breath, you reluctantly broke the kiss, your mind finally catching up to your body. No one had ever done anything like this for you before, and you couldn’t help the smile on your face as you looked back at Grant, who had a similar look on his face.

“That was nice,” you finally spoke when the ferris wheel kicked to life again. Your cart moved only a short distance before a loud creak sounded and you abruptly stopped again, the cart swaying back and forth from the shift.

“Geeze! How much money did you give that man?” you asked.

“This isn’t me!” Grant started laughing when you realized it was the ferris wheel and you were actually stuck up in the air. You let out a groan, starting to get uncomfortable in the cart with images of you plummeting to the ground in your head.

“Oh it’s gonna be okay, Sugarplum!” Grant’s voice called out soothingly as he brought you into his side. Your face buried in his neck, you lifted your head to look at him.

“What did you call me?” you asked, amused at the new name.

“Oh, uh…Sugarplum?” Grant said in a flustered state, unsure now if it was okay to use. You leaned up to kiss him again and moved your mouth over to his ear.

“I like it,” you whispered, before capturing his lips again, figuring this was the best way to occupy your time until you reached the ground.


End file.
